Continuous Learning v2 - Instinct-Based Architecture

An advanced learning system that turns your Claude Code sessions into reusable knowledge through atomic "instincts" - small learned behaviors with confidence scoring.

What's New in v2 Feature v1 v2 Observation Stop hook (session end) PreToolUse/PostToolUse (100% reliable) Analysis Main context Background agent (Haiku) Granularity Full skills Atomic "instincts" Confidence None 0.3-0.9 weighted Evolution Direct to skill Instincts → cluster → skill/command/agent Sharing None Export/import instincts The Instinct Model

An instinct is a small learned behavior:

id: prefer-functional-style trigger: "when writing new functions" confidence: 0.7 domain: "code-style" source: "session-observation"

Prefer Functional Style

Action

Use functional patterns over classes when appropriate.

Evidence

• Observed 5 instances of functional pattern preference
• User corrected class-based approach to functional on 2025-01-15

Properties:

Atomic — one trigger, one action Confidence-weighted — 0.3 = tentative, 0.9 = near certain Domain-tagged — code-style, testing, git, debugging, workflow, etc. Evidence-backed — tracks what observations created it How It Works Session Activity │ │ Hooks capture prompts + tool use (100% reliable) ▼ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ observations.jsonl │ │ (prompts, tool calls, outcomes) │ └─────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ │ Observer agent reads (background, Haiku) ▼ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ PATTERN DETECTION │ │ • User corrections → instinct │ │ • Error resolutions → instinct │ │ • Repeated workflows → instinct │ └─────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ │ Creates/updates ▼ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ instincts/personal/ │ │ • prefer-functional.md (0.7) │ │ • always-test-first.md (0.9) │ │ • use-zod-validation.md (0.6) │ └─────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ │ /evolve clusters ▼ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ evolved/ │ │ • commands/new-feature.md │ │ • skills/testing-workflow.md │ │ • agents/refactor-specialist.md │ └─────────────────────────────────────────┘

Quick Start 1. Enable Observation Hooks

Add to your ~/.claude/settings.json:

{ "hooks": { "PreToolUse": [{ "matcher": "", "hooks": [{ "type": "command", "command": "~/.claude/skills/continuous-learning-v2/hooks/observe.sh pre" }] }], "PostToolUse": [{ "matcher": "", "hooks": [{ "type": "command", "command": "~/.claude/skills/continuous-learning-v2/hooks/observe.sh post" }] }] } }

1. Initialize Directory Structure mkdir -p ~/.claude/homunculus/{instincts/{personal,inherited},evolved/{agents,skills,commands}} touch ~/.claude/homunculus/observations.jsonl

2. Run the Observer Agent (Optional)

The observer can run in the background analyzing observations:

Start background observer

~/.claude/skills/continuous-learning-v2/agents/start-observer.sh

Commands Command Description /instinct-status Show all learned instincts with confidence /evolve Cluster related instincts into skills/commands /instinct-export Export instincts for sharing /instinct-import Import instincts from others Configuration

Edit config.json:

{ "version": "2.0", "observation": { "enabled": true, "store_path": "~/.claude/homunculus/observations.jsonl", "max_file_size_mb": 10, "archive_after_days": 7 }, "instincts": { "personal_path": "~/.claude/homunculus/instincts/personal/", "inherited_path": "~/.claude/homunculus/instincts/inherited/", "min_confidence": 0.3, "auto_approve_threshold": 0.7, "confidence_decay_rate": 0.05 }, "observer": { "enabled": true, "model": "haiku", "run_interval_minutes": 5, "patterns_to_detect": [ "user_corrections", "error_resolutions", "repeated_workflows", "tool_preferences" ] }, "evolution": { "cluster_threshold": 3, "evolved_path": "~/.claude/homunculus/evolved/" } }

File Structure ~/.claude/homunculus/ ├── identity.json # Your profile, technical level ├── observations.jsonl # Current session observations ├── observations.archive/ # Processed observations ├── instincts/ │ ├── personal/ # Auto-learned instincts │ └── inherited/ # Imported from others └── evolved/ ├── agents/ # Generated specialist agents ├── skills/ # Generated skills └── commands/ # Generated commands

Integration with Skill Creator

When you use the Skill Creator GitHub App, it now generates both:

Traditional SKILL.md files (for backward compatibility) Instinct collections (for v2 learning system)

Instincts from repo analysis have source: "repo-analysis" and include the source repository URL.

Confidence Scoring

Confidence evolves over time:

Score Meaning Behavior 0.3 Tentative Suggested but not enforced 0.5 Moderate Applied when relevant 0.7 Strong Auto-approved for application 0.9 Near-certain Core behavior

Confidence increases when:

Pattern is repeatedly observed User doesn't correct the suggested behavior Similar instincts from other sources agree

Confidence decreases when:

User explicitly corrects the behavior Pattern isn't observed for extended periods Contradicting evidence appears Why Hooks vs Skills for Observation?

"v1 relied on skills to observe. Skills are probabilistic—they fire ~50-80% of the time based on Claude's judgment."

Hooks fire 100% of the time, deterministically. This means:

Every tool call is observed No patterns are missed Learning is comprehensive Backward Compatibility

v2 is fully compatible with v1:

Existing ~/.claude/skills/learned/ skills still work Stop hook still runs (but now also feeds into v2) Gradual migration path: run both in parallel Privacy Observations stay local on your machine Only instincts (patterns) can be exported No actual code or conversation content is shared You control what gets exported Related Skill Creator - Generate instincts from repo history Homunculus - Inspiration for v2 architecture The Longform Guide - Continuous learning section

Instinct-based learning: teaching Claude your patterns, one observation at a time.